Month: August 2018

George Rose/Getty Images/WIREDGeorge Rose/Getty Images/WIREDCalifornia, that innovative economic juggernaut that so often takes the regulatory lead on matters such as automobile emissions, is once again establishing the ground rules to a vital industry. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in June, is the improbable result of a wealthy…

Dimitri Otis/Getty ImagesDimitri Otis/Getty ImagesDating in 2018 can be a challenge. I’m sorry, let me rephrase: It suuuuuuuuccckkkkksssss.Apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Grindr, and others are the dater’s tools of choice , and yet hating them is the one thing we can all agree on these days. They’re often more hazard than help, and the forced…

Online advertising can be more than just annoying. It can also violate users’ privacy through tracking technology meant to help target ads and measure response. Users have long had a range of tools at their disposal to combat aggressive or nosey ad-tech. But these tools often require users to install new software, or poke around…

For more than a century, automakers have been racing to craft ever better machines. They’ve evolved from carving wood to stamping steel to pressing aluminum to forging carbon fiber. They’ve played with virtual reality and 3-D printing, always looking for the edge that lets them outbuild the competition. And now, despite the efforts of thousands…

San Francisco officials have authorized Skip, along with Scoot, to operate shared e-scooters in the city. Each company can operate at least 625 scooters, and permits will be finalized by October 15.Skip ScootersSan Francisco officials have authorized Skip, along with Scoot, to operate shared e-scooters in the city. Each company can operate at least 625…

In July, Danielle Bostick joined a nationwide movement against sexual violence on school campuses when she made a Facebook page for her daughter. “Justice for Francesca,” is meant to raise awareness about the 15-year-old, who was sexually assaulted last summer by a classmate she didn’t know. For weeks, Bostick used the page to share articles…

Google/HOTLITTLEPOTATOMost people on Earth can speak two or more languages, but voice-operated virtual assistants have always forced them to pick and use just one—at least until today.Google Assistant is now the first multilingual virtual assistant. Users can specify that they want listening done in two languages in the app’s settings on their phone or Google…

Anyone who isn’t an expert on the internet would be hard-pressed to explain how tracking on the internet actually works. Some of the negative effects of unchecked tracking are easy to notice, namely eerily-specific targeted advertising and a loss of performance on the web. However, many of the harms of unchecked data collection are completely…

At no point during the first two acts of “The Naked Gun” is there any hint that viewers will spend the final minutes of the film caught up in the minutiae of a baseball game. But the entire plot of this classic film hangs on hardball. Every joke, every sight gag, every frame of celluloid in the first…

As long as you’re a teen with a following. Taylor Lorenz Aug 22, 2018 Shutterstock While some teens spent the summer of 2018 babysitting, bagging groceries, or scooping ice cream, thousands of others made hundreds of dollars—and in some cases, much more—the new-fashioned way: by doing sponsored content on Instagram.With “jobs you need to do…